National Democratic Redistricting Committee

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Read about the Democratic and Republican organizations formed to shape redistricting after the 2020 census: National Democratic Redistricting Committee • National Republican Redistricting Trust

National Democratic Redistricting Committee
Basic facts
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Type:	•527 group •501(c)(4) •501(c)(3)
Top official:	Eric Holder, Chair
Year founded:	2016

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is a 527 group, or nonprofit organization, that aims to position Democrats favorably for the round of redistricting following the 2020 census. It is chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and former President Barack Obama (D) has identified it as his main post-presidency political focus.

The NDRC is affiliated with the 501(c)(3) entity the National Redistricting Foundation and the 501(c)(4) entity the National Redistricting Action Fund.

Mission

According to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings, its mission is:

“

To build a comprehensive plan to favorably position Democrats for the redistricting process through 2022.

”

Background

Democratic leaders, including Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), pitched the idea of the NDRC to major donors at the Democratic National Convention in July 2016.

The NDRC registered with the IRS in August 2016 and launched in October 2016.

Related groups

National Democratic Redistricting Committee related groups
National Democratic Redistricting Committee	National Redistricting Foundation	National Redistricting Action Fund
527 group	501(c)(3)	501(c)(4)
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee can engage in campaign politics with no campaign limits, specifically supporting or attacking candidates, and must disclose donors. It may not, however, coordinate its activities with any campaign. Examples include the Republican Governors Association, Democratic Governors Association, Citizens United, and EMILY's List.	The National Redistricting Foundation is a 501(c)(3) group, which refers to to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning charitable, religious, and educational organizations. Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax. This exemption requires that any political activity by the charitable organization be nonpartisan in nature.	The National Redistricting Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) group, which refers to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning social welfare organizations. Corporations that have been granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax. However, unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, donations to 501(c)(4) entities are not tax-deductible for the individual or corporation making the donation. These organizations may engage in political lobbying and political campaign activities. This includes donations to political committees that support or oppose ballot measures, bond issues, recalls or referenda.

Work

The NDRC aims to position the Democratic Party favorably for redistricting following the 2020 census. According to Politico, the group formed to "coordinate campaign strategy, direct fundraising, organize ballot initiatives and put together legal challenges to state redistricting maps." The NDRC's website describes its work as "a four-part strategy focused on advancing legal action, mobilizing grassroots energy, supporting reforms, and winning targeted elections... As each piece comes together, our comprehensive approach to redistricting will ensure that we can achieve a fairer process and fairer maps."

"American voters deserve fair maps that represent our diverse communities – and we need a coordinated strategy to make that happen," NDRC Chair Holder said. "This unprecedented new effort will ensure Democrats have a seat at the table to create fairer maps after 2020."

Lawsuits

• On February 26, 2018, Politico reported that The National Redistricting Foundation—the 501(c)3 group related to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee—sued Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) for not holding special elections for two state Legislature seats. The seats were left vacant after an assemblyman and state senator resigned to accept jobs in Walker's administration, and were scheduled to remain open until January 2019 after the regularly-scheduled elections the November beforehand. The foundation contended that “plaintiffs have a clear legal right to elect representatives to fill those vacancies (and to representation in the Legislature) and Governor Walker has a plain legal duty to issue the writs of election to hold a special election as promptly as possible.” On March 22, 2018, a county judge found Walker had misinterpreted state law governing when to fill the vacant seats and ordered Walker to call the two special elections.

• On October 3, 2017, The New York Times reported that the NDRC-affiliated National Redistricting Foundation would file a racial gerrymandering lawsuit against Georgia. The foundation claimed that Georgia Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment in 2015 by adjusting the state's 105th and 111th legislative districts to minimize the influence of black voters and failing to draw a majority-minority district in the Atlanta area.

According to the NDRC's website, the group and its affiliates have also been involved in redistricting lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia.

First Obama fundraiser, July 2017

On July 13, 2017, former President Obama appeared at his first NDRC fundraiser. According to Politico, the fundraiser, which was also attended by Holder and Pelosi, was held at a private home in Washington, D.C.

Political activity

2018 elections

On February 7, 2018, the NDRC released its list of 2018 target and watch states. The table below lists the states on the list, which states were Republican trifectas as of February 2018, and which elections the NDRC intends to target in each state.

NDRC electoral target states, 2018
Category	State	Targeted elections	Republican trifecta
Target Group A: Described by the NDRC as "States that were gerrymandered by Republicans after the 2010 elections"
	Georgia	Gubernatorial, state Senate	✔
	Michigan	Ballot initiative, gubernatorial, state Senate, state House	✔
	North Carolina	State Senate, state House
	Ohio	Ballot initiative, gubernatorial, secretary of state, state auditor, state Senate, state House	✔
	Pennsylvania	Gubernatorial, state Senate, state House
	Texas	State Senate, state House	✔
	Virginia	State Senate, state House
	Wisconsin	Gubernatorial, state Senate	✔
Target Group B: Described by the NDRC as "States at risk of gerrymandering during 2021 redistricting"
	Colorado	Gubernatorial, state Senate
	Florida	Gubernatorial, state Senate	✔
	Minnesota	Gubernatorial, state Senate special elections, state House
	Nevada	Gubernatorial, state Senate, state House
Watch list
	Arizona	Ballot initiative	✔
	Maine	Gubernatorial, state Senate
	Missouri	Ballot initiative	✔
	New Hampshire	Gubernatorial, state Senate, state House	✔
	New York	State Senate
	South Carolina	Gubernatorial, state House	✔
	South Dakota	Ballot initiative	✔
	Utah	Ballot initiative	✔

According to The New York Times, "Holder said in an interview that the group was chiefly determined to deny Republicans so-called trifectas in state governments – places where a single party controls the governorship and an entire legislature, as Republicans do in Ohio and Florida, among other critical battlegrounds." "From my perspective, success is if you break a trifecta," Holder told the Times. "I don't think that in December of 2018, you measure success only by whether you have assumed control of a particular state."

As of February 8, 2018, six of the NDRC's 12 targeted states were Republican state trifectas. Republicans held 26 trifectas nationwide at that time, and Democrats held eight.

Holder told Politico in November 2017 that the NDRC planned to raise more than $30 million for the 2018 election cycle. As of the release of its target list in February 2018, he said the group had raised more than $16 million.

The NDRC played a role in the Wisconsin state senate special election in January 2017 when it spent nearly $50,000 supporting Democratic candidate Patty Schachtner, who ended up winning the race.

2017 elections

The NDRC supported Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam's (D) 2017 campaign for governor of Virginia. According to Politico, the group invested $1.2 million in campaign support and digital ads for Northam. Northam won the seat with 54 percent of the vote.

The group also reported spending $50,000 in 2017 to defend three Nevada state senators from recall attempts. The recall attempts were launched in August 2017 against Democratic state Sens. Nicole Cannizzaro and Joyce Woodhouse and independent state Sen. Patricia Farley. Recall supporters failed to submit sufficient signatures to place the Farley recall on the ballot. As of February 8, 2018, the Cannizzaro recall and Woodhouse recall efforts were ongoing.

Ballot measure activity

The NDRC contributed funds to the campaign supporting Ohio Issue 1—the Congressional Redistricting Procedures Amendment. Issue 1 resulted from negotiations between state Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, and the leaders of a committee involved in a redistricting initiative campaign. Issue 1 was designed to change the vote requirements to pass congressional redistricting maps and the standards used in congressional redistricting in Ohio.

Overview of ballot measure support and opposition

The following table details the NDRC's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:

Ballot measure support and opposition for the NDRC
Ballot measure	Year	Position	Status
Ohio Issue 1, Congressional Redistricting Procedures Amendment (May 2018)	2018	Supported	aApproved
Michigan Proposal 2, Independent Redistricting Commission Initiative (2018)	2018	Supported	aApproved

Leadership

The following individuals held leadership positions with the NDRC as of February 2018:

• Eric Holder, Chair
• Kelly Ward, Executive director
• Elisabeth Pearson, Board member
• Ali Lapp, Board member
• Jessica Post, Board member
• Greg Speed, Board member

Finances

Holder reported that the NDRC had raised more than $16 million as of February 2018. The group's 2017 donors included Fred Eychaner, Donald Sussman, Jon Stryker, Martha Samuelson, and J.J. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms National Democratic Redistricting Committee. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

National Democratic Redistricting Committee - Google News

See also

• Democratic National Committee
• Democratic Party
• Eric Holder

External links

• Democratic National Redistricting Committee official website